Those who say supercars aren’t for India could possibly be right to some extent. You complain about the roads and the traffic and how all of this turns owning a supercar into living hell when you’re in India, right? See, for hardcore enthusiasts, these problems aren’t seen as a barrier to own some of the finest machines to be offered by auto industry. Using traffic, and bad road conditions is simply an illegitimate excuse to not own a beast. Rather, they take up the challenge and drive these cars the right way. However, the traffic does get in the way, and the bad road conditions too. Sadly, due to this, these reason cars aren’t pushed to the absolute maximum. Which is probably why the owners some 13 Ferraris were lined up at the Madras Motor Racetrack in Chennai to celebrate their Independence Day on the 15th of August. Mind you, this wasn’t to celebrate the Independence of our country, but rather to celebrate the independence of being able to push their cars to the limit.

You know it’s about to go down when you see 15 of Italy’s finest machines sitting in the pit lane, waiting to take off. Oh, and for those who say supercars aren’t for India, well, let this act as evidence that regardless of the bad road conditions, there is always an escape from that environment when your car is sitting on the start line. If you were to be anywhere around Madras Motor Racetrack on the 15th of August between 10am to 5pm, all you would’ve heard are the best sounding Italian engines screaming on the main straight before downshifting into turn 2 of the MMRT. So exactly which cars were on the racetrack? Well, the flagship 812Superfast, California T, FF, F430, a total of five 458s including one Speciale completed with seven Ferrari 488 GTBs. Watching about 60 crores worth of Italian supercars ripping it up is quite an astonishing sight.

Surely, you’ve heard the saying ‘Italians do it the best’, and yes indeed they do, because simply pulling together 15 Ferraris on from Bangalore, Coimbatore, Kerala, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai isn’t all that Ferrari did. To make this Independence Day even more special Ferrari even flew in 2 Ferrari Corsa Piloti instructors. Now let’s hold on for a second here. For those who do not know, these are the same professional racecars drivers that have been picked up and trained to race in international motorsport series such as the Blancpain GT series. If these drivers handle the Ferrari GT3 cars under massive pressure, then they’re certainly fit enough to instruct the Ferrari owners the right way. 
Despite having rained the entire week, the rain gods too seemed to put the rains on pause to enjoy this spectacle. The track was damp but that just added on to the heighten the entire track experience of the drivers and with the expert inputs of the Corsa Piloti instructors, they surely had something to take back home! The buzzing of V8s and V12s, some of the finest ones at that, is something you cannot get over. The sounds emanated by these Maranello-made engines is enough to make you fall in love with the brand and everything that comes attached with it. 

This properly sums up the Indian auto culture for those who do not know it too well. Bad roads may limit the potential of a supercar in India, but a true enthusiast will always find a way to break through these barriers. The way the passion for one brand brings together people from various walks of life never ceases to surprise. On this one trackday, we had everyone from business tycoons to stockmarket sharks and even actors. And not to forget the enthusiasts, whether a supercar owner or not, the level of enthusiasm to see the cars in action remained the same even among those who did not drive the cars. The amount of aspirational value that a Ferrari carries is unrivalled. Be it an owner or an enthusiast, the aspiration to want a Ferrari (or one more Ferrari in case of the latter) is something that keeps the blood pumping. 

Bad roads may limit the potential of a supercar in India, but a true enthusiast will always find a way to breakthrough these barriers. This trackday stands testimony to the same! Here's a kudos to Ferrari Mumbai for putting up a good show and the owners fro actively participating. Perhaps, this is the dawn of more such supercar events to come.

Huge thanks to our partners at Phosart Studio for these amazing images!